Colorado Wolves Rounded Up and Placed in Secure Enclosure After Outbreak of Conflicts

Just as quickly as they were released (kind of), Colorado officials have captured six wolves in Grand County after conflicts with ranchers and livestock went through the roof. The seek-and-capture operation kicked off on August 22 as Colorado Fish and Wildlife officers headed into the field to capture and contain the now infamous Copper Creek pack. 

Officials bagged the adult female 2312-OR on Aug. 24, followed by adult male 2309-OR on Aug. 30 before he died on Sept. 3. The four pups — three males and a female — were captured between Sept. 3 and Sept. 5.

The adult male that died succumbed to injuries sustained to his hind leg, but were not associated with the capture.

“The wolf’s body weight was nearly 30% lower than it was when he was released in December,” reads the statement. “CPW staff administered antibiotics in an effort to address infections from his injury. Four days after transport, CPW’s wolf team biologists received a mortality signal from 2309-OR’s collar and the animal was confirmed to be deceased. CPW staff believes that it was unlikely the wolf would have survived for very long in the wild. A full necropsy will be conducted.”

The five captured wolves have since been relocated to a “large, secure enclosure with limited human interactions,” according to CPW. The decision was made after multiple livestock depredations in Grand County and pushback from the ranching community. While relocation of wolves was obviously not a part of the reintroduction plan, desperate times call for desperate measures.

“We will take the lessons we’ve learned here and apply them as we continue to build out a strong program alongside our federal and state partners, and both the wolf restoration advocacy and ranching communities,” CPW director Jeff Davis said in the press release. “The more we’re able to listen to understand one another and increase cooperation, the better off we’ll all be in the long run. Our focus in this case now is on a healthy release of the remaining members of the Copper Creek pack.”

Although according to reports, there are no plans as of yet to release the captured wolves.